The Big Silence
Where there is darkness, there is an immense opportunity for light. The Big Silence aims to normalize conversations around mental health and empower people to turn their challenges into triumphs. Hosted by Karena Dawn – mental health advocate, wellness entrepreneur, co-founder of Tone It Up, and New York Times bestselling author – The Big Silence is creating a safe space to share our story, and for you to share yours. Like so many, Karena has experienced profound grief and trauma. Growing up with a mother diagnosed with paranoid-schizophrenia, her childhood was filled with traumatic experiences that resulted in repressed emotions of guilt, shame, depression, and eventually, a suicide attempt. Though filled with this darkness, Karena was able to find deep joy. And with The Big Silence, she's creating a space for you to find that joy, too. This podcast will feature in-depth conversations with psychologists, spiritual leaders, public figures, friends, and anyone who has been impacted by a mental health condition – either themselves, or through a family member or a friend. Suffering in silence only reinforces the stigma behind mental health issues and builds boundaries that prevent healing. Wherever you are, whatever you're going through, you have a spark of greatness inside of you. No more embarrassment, no more shame, only healing. -- A non-profit 501(c)3, The Big Silence Foundation provides resources and support to anyone directly or indirectly impacted by mental illness. 'The Big Silence' theme song was written and performed by James Nicholas Kinney. Executive Handyman, Bobby Goldstein.
Episodes
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
What if the moment you thought would end your life became the start of a mission to save millions?
In this extraordinary episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with suicide prevention advocate, storyteller, and best-selling author Kevin Hines. At 19, Kevin jumped from th...
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
What if fear wasn’t an enemy to conquer, but a source of fuel for creativity?
In this powerful episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with actor, teacher, and Committed Impulse founder, Josh Pais. From growing up in New York’s gritty Alphabet City to starring in ov...
Vanessa Rissetto: A CEO’s Honest Take on Nutrition, Mental Health, and Saying What You Mean is great
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
What happens when a cancer diagnosis collides with raising $10 million in venture capital?
On this episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with Vanessa Rissetto, registered dietitian, CEO and co-founder of Culina Health, and cancer survivor who’s redefining resilience. Fr...
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
What happens when the “perfect” relationship is powered by control, confusion, and intermittent kindness?
In this powerful conversation, Dr. Nadine Macaluso, somatic psychologist and author of Run Like Hell, breaks down trauma bonds. She explain...
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
What if the breakdown you feared was actually the doorway to your greatest sense of peace?
In this transformative episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with #1 New York Times bestselling author, spiritual teacher, and Dear Gabby podcast host Gabby Bernstein. From uncove...
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
Could the secret to mental health be linked to brain health rather than what’s inside a pill bottle?
In this illuminating episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with world-renowned psychiatrist, brain health expert, and bestselling author ...
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn
What if modern dating wasn’t done with your thumb?
In this refreshing episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with Stephanie Fischer, attorney-turned-tech CEO of NeverMissed, a proximity-based dating app designed to get you off your phone and into real life, safely.
From a...
What if the guilt and shame you carry as a mother or caretaker weren’t yours to begin with?
In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Vanessa Bennett, LMFT, licensed depth therapist, and author of the new book, The Motherhood Myth
From growing up as a “parentified child” to raising her daughter with intention, Vanessa shares how generational wounds, from the “witch wound” to the “mother wound”, shape our li...
What if the path to healing wasn’t in returning to the life you had, but in dreaming up an even better one?
In this powerful episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Ukrainian psychologist and motivational speaker Natalia Kholodenko. Once a TV star living a glamorous life in Kyiv, Natalia lost everything in an instant when war broke out. Forced to flee, she faced displacement, trauma, an...
What if your doctor was the one who needed saving?
In this eye-opening episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Dr. Darshan Shah, a surgeon, longevity expert, and founder of Next Health. After decades in medicine and a career spent helping others, Dr. Shah found himself battling chronic disease, obesity, depression, and burnout. But it wasn’t pills or procedures that saved him. It was a radical shift toward root-cause ...
What does it really mean to be optimistic?
In this Flow Space edition of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Dr. Deepika Chopra, known as the “Optimism Doctor”, live from the Women’s Health Summit in LA. Drawing from her background in psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience, Dr. Chopra debunks the myth that optimism is about “being positive.” Instead, she offers science-backed tools to build mental resilience, process...
What if midlife wasn’t something to fear, but something to own?
In this empowering episode recorded live at the Women’s Health Summit in LA, Karena sits down with actor and activist Constance Zimmer and filmmaker Abby Epstein to talk about aging, hormones, Hollywood, and how women are finally telling the truth about what it means to grow older. From the early days of the Vagina Monologues to the debut of their new project Midlife Mo...
What if you were leading a major wellness media company while quietly struggling to follow the very advice you publish?
In this refreshingly candid episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Samantha Skey, CEO of SheMedia and founder of Flowspace. Together, they dive into what it really means to age out loud, from the invisible weight of midlife caregiving to the truth about impostor syndr...
What if your lowest moment was the beginning of your greatest transformation?
In this powerhouse episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with six-time American Ninja Warrior, keynote speaker, and Pull-Up Revolution founder Angela Gargano. From tearing her ACL on national TV to moving into her dad’s basement and starting over, Angela’s story is the definition of a comeback. She opens up about identity, healing through movement, ...
What happens when you confront your darkest moments and choose to heal, instead of staying stuck in the pain?
In this raw and inspiring episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn is joined by Dr. Samantha Harte, author of Breaking the Circuit. She’s a physical therapist, author, and sobriety advocate. Harte opens up about rebuilding her life after addiction and navigating a traumatic childhood. Through it all, she discovered the healin...
What if you built a billion-dollar fitness empire — and then had the courage to tear it down for something better?
In this powerful episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Carl Daikeler, founder of Beachbody (now known as BODi), the man behind household names like P90X, Insanity, Shakeology, and Morning Meltdown 100. But this isn’t just a story of success — it’s a brutally honest look at motivation, body image, entrep...
What if your anxiety is actually your soul speaking to you? In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena reunites with longtime friends and Almost 30 podcast co-founders Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik to talk about life transitions, healing burnout, and the emotional power of their first book. From learning to listen to your intuition to rewriting generational body image beliefs, these two best friends open up about the lessons t...
What if your symptoms weren’t “just in your head”? On this heartfelt and hilarious episode of The Big Silence, Karena sits down with Katy and Josh, the powerhouse couple behind the wellness brands Joi and Blokes (now unified under Relon). From four miscarriages and lost sex drives to unexpected weight gain and hormone havoc, they candidly share how their personal struggles with health, marriage, and identity led to the creation of ...
What if the path to true health wasn’t found in counting macros or cutting carbs—but in listening to your body, regulating your nervous system, and redefining your worth? Karena welcomes integrative nutritionist and mom of four, Cara Clark. From growing up in a chaotic home as one of eight kids to building a health empire rooted in faith and intuition, Cara opens up about performance-based love, disordered eating, menopause, and th...
On this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with singer-songwriter Lindsey Ray — a powerhouse behind the scenes of the music industry with credits including Mariah Carey, Demi Lovato, and Tiësto. But beyond the accolades lies a story of self-reinvention, mental health awakening, and the hard decision to walk away from “success” in search of authenticity. From her childhood anxiety and people-pleasing tendencies to lea...
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